Every F A cup giant killing since 1888

The F A cup was played in 1946, however, due to the lack of a League Programme that season, it was decided to hold the competition with two legged ties in which the aggregate score was recorded. only one top flight team was eliminated by lower division opposition when Arsenal lost 0-6 at West Ham and 1-6 on aggregate. Charlton also lost against Fulham but won the tie on aggregate to progress to the final. The normal format was restored for 1947. It's hard to class any of the cup ties of 1946 as cupsets as many teams were missing their regular players.

This was arguably Chesterfield's greatest ever side as they mounted a put on a second half of the season run of form that gave them a club best fourth place finish in the Second Division. Much of that good spell of form may have comedown to this cupset of Sunderland where the former Irish International Dudley Milligan, who was actually a South African, settled the tie in the second half. Chesterfield were never able to build on this side's good form and promotion to the big time continues to elude them. In 2012 the match was consigned to the history books when Sid Ottewell, the last surviving player from the tie, passed away.

The F A cup is always the last thing a struggling top flight side needs but at least the beleaguered Huddersfield fans got value for money in this exciting home defeat by Second Division Barnsley, which included a still relatively unknown Chilean born striker, Jorge Robledo. The youngster, who had been raised in Yorkshire and went by the name George, had fame awaiting him as a future cup winner with Newcastle and World cup player for his birth land but on this day he was a mere footnote as others grabbed the headlines. Early nerves looked to have been settled for the struggling Terriers when a Peter Doherty brace turned the game around from an early setback before Barnsley levelled the tie five minutes before the break. The home fans must surely have thought that Albert Bateman's early second half strike would finally kill the visitors off but when Walter Bennett's equaliser was followed with a Barnsley winner from Baxter ten minutes from time, Huddersfield's miserable season went from bad to worse. Relegation was to follow for the home side while the visitor's cup run came to a crashing halt in the next round to the tune of a six goal thumping from Preston.

Little surprise in all honesty at this victory for Albion against a Leeds side that had avoided defeat just once in twelve road trips during the season so far and who had gone down 0-6 in their last journey away from Elland Road. Despite this it looked like they were on for a morale boosting away win in the cup when George Ainsley headed them in front with some of the 31,000 crowd still making their way through the turnstiles. Within minutes Davy Walsh appealed in vain for an equaliser when his shot beat Twomey but was cleared off the line by Jim Milburn. Walsh was convinced that Milburn was behind the line but was unable to convince the referee. Undaunted, Albion took command of the game and deservedly equalised when Walsh, yet again beat Twomey. Albion were fully on the front foot and it came as no surprise when Ray Barlow put them in front on the half hour. To be fair to a deflated Leeds side they were the better team in the second half and on two occasions George Ainsley was unlucky not to equalise but Albion just shaded a tight affair. The Baggies entertained stiffer top flight opponents in Charlton in round four, The Addicks getting the best of three goals on their way to winning the cup. Leeds returned to The Hawthorns in October as a Second Division side having lost all their remaining top flight away games on the way to relegation.

Promotion chasing Birmingham against relegation threatened Portsmouth must have created that sinking feeling in the stomachs of the travelling Pompey fans who took their seats in the 50,000 all ticket crowd at St Andrews. The game indeed went to it's cupset plan for the home fans as Fred Hariis lobbed helpless Ernie Butler in the first half to break the deadlock before Gil Merrick dived heroically to stop Duggie Reid's late penalty to prevent the visitors from forcing a replay. Portsmouth survived and indeed began building a side that would take the club to new heights but for Birmingham there would ultimately be heartache. A five goal drubbing of promotion rivals, Manchester City in round five was followed by a quarter final exit at Liverpool but it was the Manchester club who celebrated winning the Second Division. Birmingham finished their campaign in second but needing cup finalists Burnley to lose both their remaining games. The Clarets avoided defeat in both and Birmingham were left with what might have beens.

A cup tie actually played at Manchester City's Maine Road, which was United's temporary home while Old Trafford was being rebuilt following it's war damage and United certainly looked like a side not playing on their familiar territory against a Forest side who dominated from start to finish. The visitors had United on the back foot right from the off and in the first ten minutes alone should have taken at least one opportunity to break the deadlock. United by contrast were playing very much on the back foot and could have no complaints when Bill Fielding was left to fish the ball out of his net courtesy of Eddie Barkes effort just after the half hour. Forest, inspired by the experienced Sailor Brown, himself a cup finalist with Charlton the previous year, maintained the high tempo to put the game beyond the hosts with just over twenty minutes to go, Coliin Lyman delivering the killer blow. That was the signal for throngs of disgruntled United fans to slowly make their way out of the stadium and into the gathering gloom of a cold Manchester winters evening on a season that would end with them missing the League Championship by a solitary point. For the delighted visiting Forest fans came a fifth round tie at home to First Division Middlesbrough in which they had to come from behind twice to force a replay. The second equaliser was a gift from, of all players, Wilf Mannion, whose dreadful back pass left his keeper with no chance of preventing an own goal. Forest's luck failed to hold upn in the North East though where Borough trounced them 6-2. These games were among the few Forest played during the worst winter in living record, which saw the reds finish their mid table Second Division season in June.

Between the wars this had been the biggest game in Greater Manchester but now it was a clash between two sides in the early days of sliding under the shadow of neighbours, Manchester United. City were fighting hard to win back their top flight status, lost before the war when they became the only defending Champion in history to lose their top flight status in the season of their defence. Sam Barkas and keeper, Frank Swift remained from the team that a decade earlier had been crowned the best in the land. Bolton were an unremarkable top flight side with a very remarkable striker in whose mould every other club would build their forwards for the next decade. Nat Lofthouse was a tree trunk of a striker who was a star of the game in the making. Although City completed their cupset at Maine Road in a rather drab Wednesday afternoon affair that few who watched it would be able to recall in the years ahead, it was the match up the road at Burnden Park four days earlier that would be talked of in pubs for decades. Bolton had coasted into a two goal first half lead and seemed to be on the way to a routine cup victory only for a stirring second half City fightback. The Second Division visitors led 3-2 in the dying minutes when Bolton salvaged a replay. City crashed out in spectacular fashion at fellow giant killers, Birmingham in round five but enjoyed the last laugh by winning the Second Division title at Birmingham's expense. In 2011 George Smith was City's oldest surviving former player.

Some top flight teams reach a level of such deep ineptitude that to call their exit from the cup a cupset is almost unfair. Brentford in 1947 is one such example. In their final League game before facing Second Division Leicester they thumped a decent Wolves side 4-1, giving their fans every hope that a difficult season should still end with them doing enough to avoid relegation. Then the Bees manager, Harry Curtis issued a new club ruling that his players could no longer work in jobs that infringed on his weekday morning training routines because it was affecting team morale and hampering team tactics. The effects were disastrous. Before Brentford's next game, their fourth round cup tie with Leicester, half the team had issued a transfer request and team morale had plummeted. The fans at Griffin Park watched on as the Second Division visitors dominated the game but were unable to score, being forced to resume battle at Filbert Street. There too the sides could not be parted until this third meeting at Aston Villa's Villa Park where Leicester cruised through with ease. The Filberts enjoyed another replay in round five with Second Division Newcastle, whose own giant killing story would follow that tie [below] but Brentford's season disintegrated. The club ended the season with just one win in twenty games and were relegated, through surprisingly not as the bottom club. Most of the best players at Harry Curtis' disposal had left or were planning to leave and the idea of team morale had gone out the window. Upon leaving the club, George Smith stated "I was delighted to go [to QPR] Brentford was a very very unhappy place to be.

It's hard to contemplate that a side with Jackie Milburn, Roy Bentley, Charlie Wayman and Len Shackleton in it could possibly be in the Second Division but these were four men still in the early stages of a career that would see all become among the most feared forwards in the country. The men from Sheffield had looked throughout the season to be a side perhaps just one or two players shy of a team capable of bringing silverware to Bramall Lane and a very colourful crowd had gathered, expectant of a passage to the semi finals. In the early stages the home side made the pace, forcing Swinburne into a good save from Forbes before Brook's attempted lob dropped atop the net but their plans came apart midway through the half when a rare Newcastle attack resulted in a spot kick, despatched by Bentley only after White had pushed the shot against a post without enough force to keep it out of the goal. Newvastle enjoyed their best spell of the game on the back of their lead and doubled their advantage just before the half hour mark when Milburn was quickest to react after Charlie Wayman's long range shot was parried out by White. The second half proved to be one way traffic as Sheffield desperately tried to get a foot hold back in the tie but Swinburne was protected well by a defence that stood firm to book a semi final spot against Charlton. Newcastle lost heavily in that game and also ended up missing out on promotion, finishing fourth.

Like many of his generation, the war put paid to the career of Cliff Britton, although it was a career that ended on the high of being part of the League Champions. Upon the end of the war Britton took the manager's job at Second Division Burnley and instantly set about building a side to regain the top flight status they had last held in 1930.

After two early defeats the club were flying and went into their third round cup tie with top flight Aston Villa having lost just once in eighteen Second Division League games. Although many tipped Burnley to win the tie, few foresaw the ease with which they would do it, crushing Villa 5-1 with a brace each from Billy Morris and Ray Harrison.

A routine victory over fellow Second Division side Coventry followed before a tougher battle was negotiated when Luton, also of the second tier, were seen off in a replay by a Ray Harrison hat-trick to set up a quarter final with top flight Middlesbrough. The post war boom for Football had gripped the nation by this stage and thousands of Burnley fans braved the awful wintery weather to make it to the north-east whereupon many found themselves locked out of a packed stadium.

An angry scene was developing when the quick thinking local chief of Police hastily arranged a tannoy be directed to the freezing throng outside at which point he himself delivered a match commentary. The locked out Burnley, and for that matter thousands of Middlesbrough fans too, listened to hear Billy Morris score a deserved equaliser nine minutes from time to take the game to a replay at Turf Moor.

Being outside, as it turned out, seemed to be the better option as those leaving the ground later told of a scene of near tragedy as many has seen virtually nothing of the game and spent over an hour instead simply fighting for breath in stands that were packed well beyond their safe capacity. Such reports seemed unthinkable, coming less than a year after thirty-three Bolton fans had lost their life at a packed ground, yet it seemed no true lessons had been learned.

The replay at Turf Moor came during a season where the weather was at its worst in living memory. A huge backlog of games had already built up and a cup replay was the last thing either side needed, a fact not lost on the referee. The normally jovial Arthur Ellis, who would one day referee a European Cup Final and find greater fame as the referee on television’s It’s a Knockout, surveyed the frozen pitch and was convinced Football would not be possible. Initially he ordered the gates of the stadium remain closed while the ground staff worked on the frozen pitch but found himself left with virtually no choice but to let the game go ahead when tens of thousands of fans began clogging the roads around the ground. Ellis would later confess in his auto biography that the game should never have been played. Middlesbrough’s famous forward, Wilf Mannion concurred in his memoirs, though he had greater issues with Ellis that he never forgave.

A huge crowd had again braved the terrible weather for the game, which kicked off over an hour later than billed but watched a match with little in the way of genuine skill as the players worried more about avoiding injury on the ice than anything else. No goals were scored in normal time so an extra half hour would have to be played, with just about enough light to complete it. The match exploded in the first minute when Peter Kippax’s free kick was helped on by Harrison for Billy Morris to steer into an unguarded net. The Boro players were furious, firstly that Harrison had fouled keeper, Cummings and prevented him from getting the ball and also that he had helped it on to Morris with his hand. Both Ellis and his linesman disagreed and Burnley passed into the semi final.

A semi final with champions elect, Liverpool was their next hurdle at Blackburn Rovers’ Ewood Park where the snow had now turned to heavy rain and left puddles on the pitch before kick off. Despite the heavy rain both sets of fans arrived in full voice and full of colour, though a small group of Liverpool fans were led away by police when proving a little too boisterous before the kick off.

Burnley, in a white change kit, started the brighter but rarely troubled Reds’ keeper, Cyril Sidlow on the strength sapping ground and as the second half progressed they were forced deeper into defence by the stronger Merseysiders. Liverpool were unable to find a winner in normal time with great chances being squandered by Balmer and Liddle. Extra time saw the Burnley players visibly tiring and the final minutes were desperate ones for their fans as they held on for a replay.

The replay two weeks later at Manchester City’s Maine Road couldn’t have been played in more differing conditions as clear skies and spring sunshine bathed the stadium during the game. In the week leading up to the tie the Football Association had met with the representatives of both clubs to suggest an unprecedented step of playing an hour of extra time if the game required it. Burnley agreed but Liverpool, with crucial and possibly title winning games to come, declined, leaving the FA to state that Villa Park would host the third meeting if necessary.

Liverpool started where they had left off at Blackburn as the long throws of Bob Paisley were reaching Stubbins and Liddle in the penalty area and placing the Burnley full backs under consistent pressure. Peter Kippax summed up their determined defence, playing on with blood flowing freely from a busted nose as Burnley put everything into keeping Liverpool out with no score at half time.

The pressure from Liverpool continued to build in the second half with Balmer coming closest when his shot skimmed the bar while a Stubbins effort was blasted straight at Strong with the keeper’s net gaping. Burnley’s chances were largely restricted to set pieces and from their only corner of the second half Burnley stole the game. Bray’s kick was sent right into the heart of the Liverpool penalty area but wasn’t dealt with by the First Division defenders. The ball bounced around the six yard box for a few seconds before falling to Ray Harrison with his back to goal. Before a Liverpool defender could react Harrison turned and lashed the ball past Sidlow to give Burnley the advantage. Burnley now had something to defend and placed everyone behind the ball to hang on and book their place at Wembley, which triggered the now familiar celebratory pitch invasion.

Cup tie fever now turned to cup final fever as the town of Burnley became awash with claret and blue colours in shop, office and home windows while the fans clamoured for a precious ticket for the big game. Burnley announced that season ticket holders would be served first only to be left a little red faced when it emerged that some of the season ticket stubs they had issued tickets against had been from the aborted 1939/40 season. Others spent the night before the final sleeping in London Underground stations before doing the now traditional city sights prior to making their way to Wembley. Sadly for the Clarets fans, Charlton proved a step too far and their own determination to put right their cup defeat the previous season saw them clinch victory through Chris Duffy’s extra time winner. The Burnley fans would be left with memories of what might have been had Harry Potts’ shot, which hit the bar in normal time, been an inch lower.